So I went to my first conversation night! It was heaps of fun and my studies have paid off big time. I spent about 2 hours talking to this gorgeous girl around my age getting to know her. Amazed at how much I could get my point across... I also wowed her with mah kanji skillz Haha. All in all it was very positive experience, it was the first time i've ever had a real conversation in Japanese.

So... how was ur first time?

When I went to Japan for the first time I ended up in a tiny bar in Kyoto with a bunch of locals. They were all very friendly and one of them even bought me a drink, and the mother and daughter who ran the bar got drunk with me and made me some "special" soup :-\
At that time, my Japanese was even more basic than it probably still is now, so I think people really warm to you even if you can only speak a little bit of their language.

whats a conversation night?

I haven't had a first time. -cries-

Seriously though, I wish I was at that level... I think I will be soon, though... Problem is, there doesn't seem to be a Japanese area here ... Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese... No Japanese. Bleh!

There are some teachers in the area, though, so I'll probably end up hiring one weekly or more soon.

jacf29 Wrote:whats a conversation night?

well lots of Japanese people and lots of English speaking people go along and you just talk to people. There was heaps of people and different tables depending if you were learning Japanese or English and arranged by the level you feel you're at.

Argh it always so happens that you spend all this time explaining your way around a word you don't know only to get home and have the exact phrase pop into your head! Haha.

I've never heard of this before, but I'm going to check it out. Sounds like fun. What do they call it in japanese? 会話ナイト？

mullr Wrote:I've never heard of this before, but I'm going to check it out. Sounds like fun. What do they call it in japanese? 会話ナイト？

I believe they katakanaized the entire thing! Where I live it's put on the by the New Zealand Japan Society and it's really well organized, they also do other events throughout the year which Japanese people and people interested in Japan can go along to.

You might try seeing if theres a society or group like this in your city?

Question for other people: What was your first real conversation in Japanese like?

My first conversation was with one of my training partners after a martial arts class. I was on the way back to the hostel on the train in tokyo, and I surprised myself with what I can express given enough effort. I wish I had more opportunities when I was there though, but I'm not quite sure how to start a conversation out of the blue with locals.

Where would you find ads for conversation nights?

Nii87 Wrote:My first conversation was with one of my training partners after a martial arts class. I was on the way back to the hostel on the train in tokyo, and I surprised myself with what I can express given enough effort. I wish I had more opportunities when I was there though, but I'm not quite sure how to start a conversation out of the blue with locals.

Where would you find ads for conversation nights?

Sorry to hijack this thread a bit, but has anyone ever successfully just randomly struck up conversation with a local? How did you do it?

I found that locals could do it to me, particularly old women on the train or drunk guys in bars, but outside of that, nothing. And I am positive if I just approached a Japanese person and started talking, I would seriously scare them.

I've made a separate topic for this Ryuujin, because it interests me enough =):

http://forum.koohii.com/showthread.php?p...5#pid72855

If you're in Japan, I think they are called "international parties". Basically, all the Japanese women that want to hook up with foreign men...*cough*....*cough*.... I mean... Japanese girls that want to learn English come to these parties to learn English.

Hiragana Times Magazine actually has a couple of these parties. One is in Tokyo. The other is in Osaka.

There's also a website called Fukuoka Live that has these parties as well. You have to live in Fukuoka to be a member. Check out the photos on their sites. Good times I tell you..... :-p

Another cool thing that Hiragana Times does is their coach service.

For premium subscribers ($60/month), which basically is anyone who subscribes to the magazine, they offer a volunteer coach service. They have coaches around Japan (mostly in the Tokyo area) and you can schedule to meet them at a cafe or wherever and they'll help you out. They are all volunteers. No need to pay them. And you get conversation practice.

A good deal if you ask me.... :-)

chamcham Wrote:If you're in Japan, I think they are called "international parties". Basically, all the Japanese women that want to hook up with foreign men...*cough*....*cough*.... I mean... Japanese girls that want to learn English come to these parties to learn English.

I've never been desperate enough to go to international parties, but from what I hear most of the girls really do just want to practice their English. The poor sap chatting them up all night and buying drinks thinks he has a chance at a number but in the end, no.